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YouTube's Missing Monetization Makes its Internet TV Prospects Patchy
YouTube's fortunes in the emerging internet TV space may be hampered because it cannot yet help partners monetize their content on the new platform.
YouTube (NSDQ: GOOG) now has an app on several connected TVs from manufacturers like Samsung and LG (SEO: 066570), but some owners grumble that it does not include videos found on the website, like official music videos.
That means Vevo. The label-owned music video wholesaler syndicates to YouTube on the web but is absent from YouTube's connected TV apps. All the while, though it is traditionally somewhat anonymous on youtube.com, Vevo is building up its own consumer-facing brand identity and is rolling out on to internet TV platforms.
Vevo tells paidContent: "Vevo and YouTube's partnership has certain minimum requirements for our videos to be made available on their applications. Vevo's branding must be made available and we must be able to monetize on our content. At this time, YouTube's Samsung app does not meet these requirements. If, at any time, changes are made to YouTube's app to accommodate these requirements, we will be happy to make Vevo videos available. Vevo is available on YouTubes web platform and on their Android mobile app."
Other requirements of some YouTube partners include back-end reporting and particular advertising capabilities - not yet available through YouTube on connected TV.
"Though we can't comment on specific partners, we're actively adding features and are quickly moving towards all content being available on all devices," YouTube owner Google tells paidContent.
After years of experimentation and unprofitability, YouTube last year increased the prevalence of ads on its web-hosted videos. If that gives it a solid web revenue platform, then the move of internet video from desktop to connected TV could, in future, make YouTube highly successful as a living room internet video advertising operator.
Today, however, YouTube's big connected TV odyssey is patchy because it lacks some premium content partners like Vevo. We are not sure how far the patches go, but others are likely missing, too.
Still, the connected TV market, though it is set to start taking off in 2012, is still young. YouTube has been here before, with mobile. After earlier grumbles about similar non-availability, Google last year implemented advertising support for YouTube's Android client, encouraging more premium content partners to flag their videos for mobile distribution.
Vevo is currently available on Boxee, games consoles and Google TV.


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Thursday before I rode to Rotterdam to meet Jelle and Jan I painted my Old Arai helmet with a rattle can. Jelle is my best friend since I'm 9 years old and his dad is my dentist :)
this is the fourth year we do a trip together like this.
Friday we left to Dunkerque in France where we took the two hour boat trip to Dover. from there we rode to the White House, our nice bed and breakfast 40 min. west of Silverstone.
Saturday we went to Silverstone to watch the qualifying of the MotoGP, Moto2 and 125cc and to see the friendly sideburn crew at the short-track race. read about Ben Parts hot piss gas explosion on the Sideburnblog
nice vibe there in the pitch. lots of Italian riders with a lot of style on the track. there also was some nice mx freestyle in the middle of the short-track track.
we bought some goodies at the Sideburn stand and at the end of the day we where the last bikes on the parking lot.
Sunday the weather sucked like a baby. but luckily we we're sitting dry watching the MotoGP on very good seats. Stoner won the exciting race. before the MotoGP we saw MOTO2 for the first time. very nice with 40 riders on the track. not really fast but a lot of action.
Monday we rode back. great ride, nice weather. we arrived in Dover in the mist.
we had a little bit of rain in Belgium but the last two hours the sun was shining.
My rear light stopped working and the GR drinks a lot of oil when ridden fast(more than 1,5 litres on this trip) and I also need a new rear tyre now but my skoot had no problems at all :)
we had a great time and are looking forward to our trip next year.

subset: commoncrawl


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Henry VII is also known as Henry Tudor. He was the first Tudor king after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485. This battle saw the end of the Wars of the Roses which had brought instability to England. Henry VII was king of England from 1485 to 1509. His second son, also called Henry, inherited the throne and became Henry VIII. Henry VIII and Elizabeth I tend to dominate Tudor history and their lives do overshadow the importance of Henry VII's reign.
The Wars of the Roses had been a constant battle between two of England's most powerful families – the families of York and Lancaster. Henry was a member of the Lancaster family and to bring the families closer together he married Elizabeth of York soon after being crowned king.
However, the powerful York family remained a threat to him for years to come as they never recognised their defeat in the Wars of the Roses nor did they want a member of the Lancaster family as king of England.
However, Henry was a very difficult opponent. He was a clever man who was determined not to lose his throne. He quickly identified the main problem he faced – the powerful barons of England. They were rich and they had their own private armies. During the Wars of the Roses, they had not been loyal to either side – renting out their private armies to the family that paid the most. Henry had to control them.
Henry had a three-way plan to bring the barons under his control.
First, he banned all private armies. Any baron who disobeyed this royal command would be committing treason which carried the death penalty.
Secondly, he heavily taxed the barons to reduce their wealth. The money raised could be used by Henry to develop his own royal army. A powerful royal army was an obvious threat to the barons.
The third way of controlling the barons was to use the Court of Star Chamber. This was a court run by men who were loyal to Henry VII and they could be relied on to severely punish any baron who angered the king.
With these three potential punishments against them, the barons, though a threat to Henry VII, were reasonably well tamed by him.
Unlike many kings before him, Henry took a keen interest in financial matters as he knew that a wealthy king was a strong king and a poor king was a weak one. He also knew that money would expand his army and the larger his army was, the more powerful he was in the eyes of the barons. This alone, he believed would keep them loyal.
Though he was very careful with money, he also enjoyed himself. He was keen on playing cards. On January 8th, 1492, he put aside the large sum of £5 for an evening of gambling. We know that he lost £40 playing cards on June 30th, 1492. He regularly tipped those who entertained him – especially musicians – the sum of 33p – not much by our standards, but a good sum of money for an entertainer in Tudor times. He was also very keen on playing Real Tennis.
To develop better relations abroad, and to avoid costly foreign wars, he had arranged for his eldest son – Arthur – to marry a Spanish princess called Catherine of Aragon. Aragon is in north-east Spain. Such political marriages were common among the children of royal families. Neither Arthur nor Catherine would have had the opportunity to say no to the marriage.
The marriage lasted only five months as Arthur died. To maintain a friendship with Spain, Henry arranged for Catherine to marry his second son, Henry, the future king of England. Henry VII died before the marriage took place.
When he died in 1509, the country was by past standards wealthy and the position of the king was good. The barons by 1509 had been all but tamed. Many barons believed that it was better to work with the king than against such a powerful man.
Henry VIII inherited many advantages from his father's reign as king. The reign of the Tudor family – 1485 to 1603 – is famous for many occurrences and two monarchs stand out (Henry VIII and Elizabeth I), but the 118 years of Tudor England has a great deal to thank Henry VII for as he got the Tudor family off to a stable and powerful start.
Related Posts
- Henry VII (king from 1485 to 1509) Control of barons ¯ ¯ Henry VIII (king from 1509 to 1547) Six Wives Reformation ¯ ¯ Edward…


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The Acer Aspire reviews were getting a little old, so instead of adding yet another anectode of the popular netbook, I thought I'd shake things up a little by giving my view of Asus' slightly more expensive (but worth the extra money) EeePC 1000 HE for the enjoyment of all.
I ordered a 10.1-inch Acer Aspire One for my school's choir department to give the next year's treasurer so as to give him the appropriate tools to make sure he continues in my excellence (sorry, unsupressable pride). Upon receiving the shipment, I immediately knew I had to have a newer, better, more beautiful netbook because the new Aspire One sort of made me drool in a figurative sense. Within two weeks I had put up my one and one half month-old Aspire One for sale online and received the EeePC 1000 HE.
For only $100 more than what I purchased my 8.9-inch Aspire One (and only $40 more than what the 10.1-inch Aspire One cost the school), I bought the Eee PC 1000 HE. Some of its main points are Intel's Atom processor (this time at 1.66 GHz versus the standard 1.6), 1 GB DDR2 RAM, 160 GB of hard drive space, a 10.2-inch screen, wireless b/g/n, Bluetooth, a 1.3 MP webcam and dual microphones, and an 8700mAH 6-cell battery. It also came with some extras that weren't described on the item page on Buy.com: 10 GB of free online storage (Eee Storage), a zippered slipcase, and what I like to call the OCD rag, provided to help remove the smudges that constantly appear on the glossy surface.
A Rather Beautiful Piece of Equipment
Aesthetically speaking, the EeePC 1000HE is a mightily attractive– very much more than my old Aspire One, and more than any laptop I've yet owned. All of my previously owned laptops are either pre-21st century or turn of the century, so perhaps that's not saying much. At any rate, even though I buy computers based on the price-to-performance ratio and think buying a computer for its good looks isn't very wise, I've feel a little special every time I take it out to use in public. The black exterior with black keyboard and silver accents is a big plus to the looks of the machine. Also, this is a very personal preference, but glowy blue status lights make any computer look twice as good as one with green or orange lights especially when coupled with the black background that the 1000 HE boasts. The exterior is glossy both on the reverse side of the screen as well as below the keyboard, and thus attracts smudges as flies are attracted to dung. The included OCD rag calms the obsessive compulsive within a person, though, so the glossy is easier to deal with than with other computers that lack the rag. The screen itself isn't glossy, which I find easier to use when sitting in front of a window at midday aside from not having to deal with smudges.
The keyboard is also a very good looking one when compared with the more standard style of raised keys. The 1000 HE's keyboard is more what you might call "Mac-like" with flat keys, more spaced apart than on most PC keyboards. I don't own Macs and hardly use the ones provided for me, but I personally find this Mac-like keyboard easier to use and more aesthetically pleasing.
Ease of Use & Battery Life
The touch pad, after using the Aspire One's for a month and a half, felt huge and as if it gave me much more freedom when surfing around the screen. The mouse buttons are also under the pad where they're meant to be, are much bigger and easier to find, and don't cause you to accidentally brush the touch pad; thus they a joy to press. Multitouch is also supported, and I've found the various gestures (such as dragging two fingers to scroll up or down) very useful.
Above the keyboard are four hotkeys, which I'm sort of a fan of. One turns the backlight off, which I've found useful when I have wanted to keep the computer on while listening to music or something of the sort while wanting to maintain battery power. Another button is a quick way to flick through different screen resolutions and other display settings. The last two buttons are user-defined.
One of the defaults for these buttons runs a program made specifically for the EeePC that I love. It normally runs at startup unless one alters the settings in msconfig or uninstalls it (I disabled the automatic startup). When needed, this background program known as Super Hybrid Engine can be set to run the netbook at different power modes depending on your needs for computer speed and battery life. Using the most battery-friendly setting and turning off the webcam, Bluetooth, and leaving WiFi on, I was able to watch about five hours of DVD-quality movies that I copied from my desktop with DVDShrink with an estimated hour and a half to spare.
In normal day-to-day use, I can take the EeePC to school without worrying about bringing my power cable as I've had to do with every single other laptop and netbook that I've owned. Even with WiFi on the entire day, I can generally get from seven to eight hours of normal use on normal power settings. The battery on this device simply astounds me– I've never owned anything that can be used constantly and lasts this long without plugging it into the wall (and no, I don't own a cell phone).
Performance-wise, I regularly run Google Chrome with three to a dozen tabs and/or Microsoft Word and Access much of the day at normal power settings (without the Super Hybrid Engine), and it runs everything rather beautifully. Sometimes, however, after downloading a somewhat large file, Chrome renders pages slowly for about a minute. The computer then resumes its normal desirable speed. Microsoft Office 2007 programs also tend to run a little slower than on desktop counterparts. The additional .6 GHz to the Atom processor in comparison with most other netbooks doesn't seem to give much, if any, noticeable increase in speed.
Windows XP, which is naturally the default system, loads wicked fast (I'm often surprised to see it loaded after standing up to get a drink or something) at an average 30- to 32-second startup, and hibernation takes about 15 seconds to achieve and 15 seconds to wake up from. As a funny side-note, a boy I know came to me today, irreverently excited with his laptop that he bought for $75. It was built somewhere around 2003 or 2004, had Windows XP installed, had a 12-inch screen, was at least two inches thick, and took at least three minutes to start. I laughed at him when he said that it "starts pretty fast," and then again when he said that "the battery lasts about five hours." This boy is known infamously for his exaggerations.
Eee Storage
The 10 GB of online Eee Storage wasn't detailed on the website I purchased the EeePC from, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the sticker next to the touch pad stating that I had ten gigabytes of online storage. The link to the Eee Storage is found in My Computer, and upon opening it, I found it already populated with various sample musics, pictures, videos, and games. My personal favorite of the provided games gives me upmost enjoyment as I race my kart acting as Mario or Luigi down a city street, running over various Nintendo characters and seeing them splatter across the screen.
The Eee Storage can be used on multiple computers for file sharing or backup, and it's also compatible with Linux operating systems with some tweaking required as there doesn't yet seem to be any client (at least that I could find). Copying between the computer and the storage is undeniably slow at the mercy of one's Internet connection (mine sadly never gets much faster than 130kBps).
A Brief Encounter with Ubuntu 9.04 (Desktop Version)
I wanted to try out the latest and greatest Ubuntu distribution in comparison with my last Ubuntu netbook experience, and thus we have a very brief anecdote of the experience of Ubuntu 9.04 on the 1000 HE, detailed in the below paragraph.
I was happy to find that the problems I had on my old Acer Aspire One with 8.10 were completely nonexistent. Wireless networking worked perfectly (if only with a little bit of tinkering depending on the network), there were no battery-to-AC-transitioning hiccups/screen glitches, and none of the components stopped working mysteriously as some had before. Bluetooth worked without any tweaking, but the camera didn't work with a default install. The system was speedy with little wait, even with full graphics enabled and using OpenOffice.org and Firefox. With a quick look-over, the system works flawlessly, and I'm very pleased with the apparent improvements over 8.10. If the desktop version works this well on the 1000 HE, then I can't wait to use the netbook remix. That's next on my list of testing to do.
The Asus EeePC 1000 HE is a good-looking piece of hardware, for one, for two, it runs just as well if not better than other computers of similar caliber, and for three, it includes more for your money than really any other netbook I've seen. I will be enjoying this machine for some years to come, and I believe it to be the highest quality netbook currently on the market. I wholeheartedly give the Asus EeePC 1000 HE a 10/10. Applause.
Please note that if you are interested in buying this item, you could opt to buy it from the OSNews Store at Amazon (direct product link). Prices are the same as in the normal Amazon online store, but by buying through the OSNews Store you support OSNews financially. Thank you!


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In the spring of 2012, Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall traveled to Tucson, Ariz., to work on her sixth album, Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon. But before she could return to finish the record, a lot happened in her personal life: The death of her father, as well as the dissolution of her marriage to drummer Luke Bullen, left Tunstall in a standstill. She eventually returned to Arizona to finish the album, only to realize that the songs she'd already written predicted the turmoil that would follow.
Tunstall's career was kick-started in 2004 with the success of her most popular song, "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree." In this installment of World Cafe, the singer explains the story behind the well-known song.
Copyright 2013 XPN


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Previous Lesson
Complete and Continue
#1 Cryptocurrency Investment Course: A Step-By-Step Guide
Welcome to the course! Here is what you are going to learn!
Thank you for learning Cryptocurrencies with me! Here is what you are going to learn! (5:46)
History of Blockchain Technology And Cryptocurrency
What is blockchain technology (5:31)
Why is this the future (3:12)
Shift In Mindset (4:07)
Why cryptocurrency is so HOT! (2:38)
Why It's Not (4:11)
Currencies vs. Assets vs. Platforms (6:11)
Understanding Bitcoin & Alternative Coins!
What Is Bitcoin (From An Investors Point Of View) (4:31)
What Are Altcoins (2:27)
The Highs And Lows Of Altcoins (4:00)
Getting Started In Crypto!
How To Read Cryptosomniac (9:52)
Setting Up A Wallet On Coinbase To Buy Cryptocurrencies Online! (11:00)
Navigating The Poloniex Exchange! (Part 1) (7:24)
Navigating The Poloniex Exchange! (Part 2) (7:25)
Transferring Bitcoin From Your Wallet To The Exchange! (4:14)
More You Can Buy If You Use The Bittrex Exchange! (Part 1) (9:03)
More You Can Buy If You Use The Bittrex Exchange! (Part 2) (6:56)
Your First Investments - A Love/Hate Thing!
Let's Buy Your First coin on Poloniex (4:29)
How You Should Use Your First Coin (2:24)
How To Sell Your First Coin On Poloniex (1:46)
How To Buy Your First Coin On Bittrex! (7:08)
How TO Sell Your First Coin On Bittrex! (1:59)
Protecting Your Money!
Enabling 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) (7:48)
Using Paper Wallets To Protect Your Money! (6:32)
Vocab Section!
Cryptocurrency Vocabulary, Lingo & Memes (Part 1) (11:57)
Cryptocurrency Vocabulary, Lingo & Memes (Part 2) (8:52)
Researching Cryptocurrencies To Invest In!
Researching Cryptocurrencies To Invest In! (10:41)
Cashing Out!
How To Convert Your Money Back To Cash (Plus What You Should Be Aware Of) (4:10)
Investing In ICOs (Learn By Example)
How To Find New ICOs! (2:44)
How To Analyze an ICO Opportunity! (8:50)
Purchasing Into An ICO By Example (After You've Spotted An Opportunity) (8:45)
Technical Analysis (Advanced Trading Tactics)
Getting Your Feet Wet With The Basics! (6:21)
How Candle Sticks Can Be Used To Analyze A Trade! (7:00)
Fibonacci Retracements! (Part 1) (8:25)
Fibonacci Retracements! (Part 2) (8:48)
Using MACD Indicators! (10:32)
Using Relative Strength Index! (RSI) (8:47)
Using Moving Averages! (9:32)
Using Chart Patterns To Identify Bearish & Bullish Movement (8:35)
Transferring Bitcoin From Your Wallet To The Exchange!
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I was having a discussion recently with a group of students about the linking of industry practice and teaching in Higher Education. It made me reflect back on my own industry experiences as an arts and retail marketer in the early 1990s. I was in marketing for one of Australia's largest book chains and later was marketing director for a community radio station. There would be few aspects of that practice that have not undergone significant change. Aside from the obvious changing nature of the products themselves, distribution has been re-imagined and a lot of theoretical rationale for why retailers exist has been made redundant. Price has become a global concept and promotion is rooted in modes and mediums barely imagined in 1991. But mostly importantly, the customer themselves have changed, with the way they seek, consume, share and obtain media driven by skills and behaviours shaped by engagement and interaction with technology.
The same progressive shift in user behaviors is clearly evident in higher education, manifesting itself in similar shifts to our 4P's (Price has been thrown into turmoil by the free aspect of MOOCs and £9000 fees in England, Product is shifting through OERs, e-learning and again, MOOCs…you can work out the rest). However, the predominant model of teaching, learning and assessment across many universities is still mired uncritically in 19th century models and practices, as if the radio didn't even exist and bookstore was a cloth hatted man serving your needs individually by drawing dusty leather bound tomes from his darkened shelves.
Making change without doubt one of the most difficult organisational processes of them all. Management guru Tom Peters used to talk about change by noting that one of the most empowering changes he saw in a workplace was where the team agreed to move a filing cupboard three feet to the left, because that filing cupboard had been getting in the way of work flow for years and no-one ever felt empowered to move it. When 'big ticket' changes like e-learning or a new teaching, learning and assessment strategy come along, the common mantra is to label them as huge changes that will require decades of time and billions of pounds to effect. When I worked in FE in Australia just repeating that mantra sometimes ensured whole eras of changes actually swept over and past my department (much to my chagrin and regret now!). How can I change programmes I have planned for, notes and lessons I have carefully designed, room booking systems made years in advance, professional standards inflexible since the time of Harold and the arrow?
There are two obvious paths to take this blog post, and I am going to ignore both of them. It is too easy to compare education to the anachronistic and arguably fading world of physical book retail. Equally, it is too easy to rant about the slow changing nature of higher education institutions. Now is the time to take the path of least resistance. Through a lot of the literature and debate around this topic there have been three ideas, nay comments really, that have resonated with me in terms of how we as developers and strategists for e-learning can make organisational change happen and stick. As with all my blogs recently, I am not arrogant enough (yet!) to suggest that these suggestions will shake the world and solve all the problems. They just might however, give you an insight into a way forward.
- 1. From little things big things grow
Davidson and Goldberg (2009) argue that '…institutions of learning have changed far more slowly than the modes of inventive, collaborative, participatory learning offered by the Internet and an array of contemporary mobile technologies'. Slowey (2012) noted that in Ireland there has been a high-take up of e-learning platforms such as the VLE, but this is often in a more instrumental manner (efficiency, cost etc). Trying to change the entire practice of any institution is a difficult task. That said, it is unsustainable that learners arrive at HE with skills that are out of sync with those required to engage in study and then are different again to those required to gain and participate in practice. There is some evidence to suggest that e-learning in institutions is often the purview of the e-learning evangelist, someone who is motivated to try different things constantly and that these evangelists represent a minority of provision, bringing into play accusations of scalability and context. Garofoli and Woodall (2003) used an old marketing concept (the adoption cycle) and applied it to HE, suggesting that many changes don't get out of the early adopter phase (where e-learning is championed by people who favour 'revolutionary change' through self-sufficient, risk taking, experimental behaviours. Donovan noted (as early as 1999!) that;
'Early adopters often are lauded as ready-made advocates for technology, but this rampant enthusiasm is a double-edged sword: sometimes it is contagious, but more often, it is perceived as techno-zealotry. This is off-putting to the majority of faculty, who may resist the adoption of technology by saying, 'I can't do that because I'm not like him/her' [an early adopter].'
Adopting one small new practice because you are aware that learners and learning has changed is far less frightening that throwing all of it out because some e-learning cheerleader tells you that it works. I was labelled by a very eminent colleague recently as an e-learning evangelist. I politely retorted that I am not an e-learning evangelist; I am an evangelist about the benefit that can be had from encouraging people to talk to each other; a much simpler premise for change. And that is often all it takes to seed change. How about trying out clickers in your classroom because you want students to engage in opinion sharing? What is the harm in asking learners to share their group interactions with other learners through a Google doc or making a short video on their phone and uploading it to youtube? Instead of printing a huge readings book, how about making a scoop.it site and getting the learners to comment on each reading in a dialogue on the site, or even better, encouraging them to add readings to the list? These are small incremental changes, but all linked to social interaction and engagement. They are not sea-changes nor are they barbarians banging at the gate. There is something to be said for the idea of from little things, big things grow.
2. 'When I graduate I will probably have a job that doesn't exist today'
I was watching the rather ubiquitous video made by the Kansas State University five years ago called "A vision of students today' and the even having watched it many times, that quote above had never really resonated with me until this year.
In so many fields and disciplines the pace of change is facilitating both a change in what we do, but equally where, when and why we do what we do at work. I have heard many people protest that the modern youth (post and including Gen Y for want of a better descriptor) are not prepared to do the hard yards at work like we did. In some ways, the way we teach in HE is informed by a similar 'rite of passage' approach, where the learner is expected to undergo the same university experience that we did. Certainly when I finished university the jobs I went for were the same ones that existed before I started (recruited by the same people, the same companies and more than likely the same interview questions!).
In my field of marketing, expertise in social media, micro-segmentation, border-less distribution and DIY were not even glimpses on the page of my monolithic textbook. Even when I was teaching marketing, the skills present in both the curriculum and practice are different to what is required today. Of course, there are principles, universal truths perhaps, that transcend the ages, but even they get questioned at some point.
If we accept that employability and finding a good job are now central motivations for undertaking HE then clearly there needs to be a closer, even symbiotic dialogue between HE and work (or practice). We also have to accept that without doubt technology has changed the way work happens and the way work is constructed and defined as a function of a consumer or capitalist society. From learning design through to how we interact with a group of learners in front of us or in front of our screens, the recognition that the way we did it before, or the way we had it done to us maybe insufficient for the requirements of the 21st century learner. Perhaps we react to this by trying out the benefits of user generated content, encouraging the development of Personal Learning environments, we might set assessments that encourage learners to explore and define professional identity through social media or we might simply model the modern working environment through collaborative or socially engaged activity.
3. Learners are not native to technology, they were introduced to it.
In the youtube clip called 'Rethinking Learning – the 21st century learner' (linked above) noted e-thinker Henry Jenkins observed that often when we talk about e-learning we get caught up discussing the skills required for the workplace and not the skills required by the 21st century learner to engage as a member of society (which he noted included creativity, civic engagement and socialising). One teacher (Nichole Pinkard) argued that no child was born digitally native (mirroring much of the debate around Prensky's work) and that you can trace back to where they were exposed to a piece of technology that resonated for them and they went from simply consuming and using to producing and sharing. I have seen this happen with my 5 year old niece, who has taken the digital camera we gave her and aggregated traditional photography skills such as depth of field and perspective along with digital skills of texture and colour and shape aligned with the type of photography supported by the camera (as well as taking a mean self-picture!). Perhaps she will become a photographer, or something else visual, or perhaps not, but the skills of technology use are emerging earlier on our children because of the ubiquity of the technology and its fundamental ability to change the way something is done.
The generation of learners entering HE now have used devices, computers, the internet and mobile technology almost all of their life. They didn't have to re-learn how to do something (remember going from rotary phones to push button to mobile). They know how to find information on the internet. They have developed skills in determining authenticity and realness (see my earlier posts). They consume and make content (in 2011, over 50% of YouTube's licensing payments come from user generated content and depending on definitions between 66 and 80% of videos uploaded are user generated). They bring with them skills to HE we can chose to ignore through our teaching, learning and assessment or that we can chose to build on and embrace them. We as a profession cannot continue to promote and support the 'empty vessel' mode of HE teaching and learning, where we assume that students start university ready to be filled with all the knowledge we choose to disseminate. Once again, small initiatives and ideas can be the way to bring about this change without tearing down the walls of the lecture theatre. Student-led learning such as class presentations can be enhanced to encourage creativity and innovation not repetition, learners can be supported to build and develop networks between groups and cohorts through collaborative and inter-disciplinary projects like the one run at the University of Technology, Sydney called 'Shopfront' (see http://www.shopfront.uts.edu.au/). Mobile phones can be embraced as a way of linking notes to practice in a classroom, or a method of crowd-sourcing or resource discovery. None of this is rocket science. What is important to note is that I strongly believe that underpinning of this should be a vision for what kind of institution you want to be a part of, what kind of pedagogy informs your learning, teaching and assessment, how do you want find out about your learners and adapt to their skills? And that this vision should be supported by action, people, evaluation and sharing. It should align pedagogy and technology in an agile and collaborative way. And finally that there is not one size this will fit all and they as markets have fractured, retail has personalised and the largest selling book of 2012 was originally a piece of internet distributed Twilight fan fiction, we also need to find unique and personalised paths through our reconstruction.


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Daniel Bertrand Monk,
Colgate University
Daniel J. Levine,
Colgate University
When young Israeli professionals erected a tent city on Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard in protest against the Netanyahu government's indifference to an affordable housing crisis in Israel, they self-consciously modeled their efforts on the popular revolutions commonly referred to as "the Arab Spring." Handmade signs reading "Rothschild, Corner of Tahrir" invite us to make comparisons between the style of this 'Israeli Spring' and the events in Cairo that brought down the Mubarak regime last April. Many commentators have done so as well.
"Among the many handmade signs in the Israeli protests is this one prominently stating: "Rothschild, Corner of Tahrir." |
"An Israeli matron reads about the previous night's protests in a Tel-Aviv café. The newspaper's headline: "Israel in the Streets. 300,000 protestors. A New Land." |
"3 years military, education, job...no housing" |
"Could we have a piece of the pie" |
"The Tent City on Rothschild Boulevard functions as a commune, with free haircuts, seminars, music, religious services, and Arabic lessons" |
Eretz Nehederet, Israel's equivalent of The Daily Show, satirized this situation brilliantly. When its host asked a cast member playing Dafni Lif (the original organizer of the tent protests on Facebook) "what are your demands?" She replies: "Um…the People demand the things everyone agrees on…about…them"). Chiding the host for insisting that she specify the movement's aims, Lis merely reverts to the most repeated of the protestors' slogans: Ha'am Doresh Tzedek Chevrati ("the People Demand Social Justice")
"If you will it, it is no dream" |
But the numbers belie this. Israel's curious coalition of the disaffected has emerged in an economy that is enjoying higher growth in real GDP than Bahrain, Brunei, and Oman. In sharp contrast to Athens or Cairo, Israel has almost halved its unemployment rate since 2003, and 80% of its wage earners are employed in service industries. Many of the "urban Bedouins" of Rothschild Boulevard get up every morning, zip up their tent flaps, and go to work in the high tech sector. If nearly one quarter of Israel's citizens are now falling below the poverty line (and if its middle class has "vanished," as former Israel Manufacturers Board chair, Dov Lautman claims), it is because the government of Israel is forced to maintain the costly infrastructure of two para-states – one for the ultra-orthodox and another for the settlers – before it can even begin going about its own business.
As we have argued in a previous essay in this series, this 'retreat of the state' was largely ignored in a period when most still Israelis felt they had a stake in general economic expansion. For Prime Minister Netanyahu and his cronies, this amounted to a welcome 'indifference dividend' concerning the cost of purchasing enough political consensus to maintain a parliamentary majority. But the pie can only be cut so many ways. The issue now is that the maintenance of the para-states is rapidly becoming the government of Israel's only business, as surrogates for market interests in the Netanyahu administration clamp down on all other spending. The result is a political double standard. Political transfer payments to settlers and ultra-orthodox are accepted as the cost of doing business. For everyone else – from the education and health care systems to the fire service, whose collapse due to sustained budgetary neglect left much of Israel to burn in forest fires last December– an ideology of austerity prevails. There is no addressing "the people's" demand for social justice without facing this.
"School of the Revolution" |
In itself, this attempt to wish away an increasingly zero-sum dispute between those whom we have elsewhere called Israel's 'statists' and its 'radicals' is nothing new. It draws on a tradition in Israeli state building that is older, in fact, than the state itself. The earnest belief that what appear to be political divisions are in fact administrative or technical problems has a long legacy. From Herzl's Altneuland (1902) to Shimon Peres' Imaginary Voyage (1998), the fruits of rational economic and social administration are presumed to dissolve political disagreements – well-stocked hospitals, efficient rail lines, electric streetlights can displace zero-sum contests over the status of the land and the nature of the polities to emerge on it.
It is through such denial that the demonstrations can now somehow not be about 'politics' – the moral, economic and human costs of the radicals' interest in the occupation, and its basic incompatibility with the liberal-parliamentary ideals of Israeli statists. A protest that called that other, deeper, division by name would differ as markedly from the present one as would a Berkeley 'teach-in' from a Sorellian general strike. That, we submit, is the true difference between the protests in Rothschild Boulevard and those in Tahrir Square.
Whether by intuitive or intentional cynicism, Netanyahu has been playing on this kind of denial, as when he reportedly cited Herzl's 'pragmatism' to Manuel Trajtenberg (head of his new blue-ribbon commission on Israel's socio-economic crisis) as a model for his willingness to take seriously the protesters' demands. It will do Mr. Netanyahu little good. His brand of cynical reason can no more protect the political status quo from the consequences of the bourgeoning 'resource war' than the protestors' enthusiasm for unstated alternatives to the same status quo can protect them from a nasty confrontation with Israel's 'radicals'. Given the prevailing level of denial and displacement, one is left to wonder if—when the confrontation between the radicals and 'everyone else' comes out into the open—any of the unfortunates caught in the melee will have any idea why.
"Fragile, reads a protest poster displaying the official emblem of the State of Israel." |


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U.S.-EU Trade Deal Must Include Agriculture, Address Non-Tariff Trade Barriers, Says Coalition
WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 15, 2012 – While maintaining its support for a free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union, a coalition of U.S. food and agricultural organizations led by the National Pork Producers Council reiterated that any deal must include agriculture and that the EU must address non-tariff trade barriers.
In a letter signed by 60 organizations sent today to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the coalition said it is important that any FTA with the EU be comprehensive and address impediments to trade in agricultural products. The coalition sent a similar letter in January.
"Carried out properly," wrote the coalition to U.S. Trade Ambassador Ron Kirk, "a U.S.-EU FTA would generate economic growth and create many thousands of new jobs on both sides of the Atlantic."
That means negotiating a high-standard, 21st-century agreement, something that has been central to the Obama administration trade policy, the coalition pointed out. But that is not the type of agreements the EU has negotiated with other trading partners.
The EU's past FTAs have excluded agricultural goods it produces, and its regulatory measures often conflict with World Trade Organization rules, including regulations on "genetically modified" crop approval and labels, which restrict U.S. corn, soy and refined corn product exports, and on production methods in poultry, beef and pork.
As part of agreeing to enter trade talks with the United States, for example, the EU Parliament said any FTA must include language on geographical indications, which would grant the EU exclusive rights to certain product names that, nonetheless, have been widely used outside of Europe for many years. (The United States, for example, would not be allowed to export to the EU "Parmesan" cheese, which is named after the Italian region where it first was produced.)
"We cannot help but be skeptical that the EU is prepared to undertake a U.S.-style comprehensive negotiation and to include the agricultural sector," the coalition wrote.


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Ravens' Flacco trying to add Super Bowl to resume
Maybe it's going to take a trip to the Super Bowl to convince those outside the Baltimore Ravens' locker room that Joe Flacco is an elite NFL quarterback.
Flacco is the only starting quarterback in NFL history to reach the postseason in each of his first five seasons. His 61 victories (including the postseason) are more than any NFL quarterback since the start of the 2008 season.
Flacco has won five road playoff games in his career, tied with Eli Manning for the most in NFL history. Joe Montana didn't do it. Neither did Brett Favre, Steve Young, Troy Aikman or Peyton Manning.
Each of those greats, however, owns a Super Bowl ring. So does Tom Brady, who will lead the New England Patriots (13-4) in Sunday's AFC championship rematch against the Ravens (12-6).
Flacco's teammates don't care about how his resume stacks up against the other greats in the game.
''That's a question you guys have got to answer,'' wide receiver Anquan Boldin told reporters this week. ''He already has our respect.''
Flacco's 7-4 record in the postseason speaks loudly about his ability to excel in big games. The former first-round draft pick out of Delaware outplayed Peyton Manning last weekend, throwing for 331 yards - including a 70-yard strike to Jacoby Jones in the closing seconds of regulation to force overtime in a game the Ravens ultimately won 38-35.
The touchdown pass to Jones might have thrust Flacco into the discussion about whether he can stand among the elite.
''You go out there and you play to win the football game and some of the things that have been required to win these football games have maybe been a little bit over the top and a little abnormal,'' Flacco said. ''I would like to think that I go out there and play consistently and approach everything the same way. I think that's been proved out. We win a lot of football games around here, and this is actually the third time I'm standing up here getting ready to play in an AFC championship game.
''It's pretty crazy when you think about it.''
The guy is good. So far, not quite good enough to take his team to the Super Bowl. But he's taken the Ravens to the brink, and hasn't missed a start since earning the job as a rookie in training camp.
''We love Joe, have for a long time,'' center Matt Birk said. ''You're always going to have naysayers out there, but we're not concerned about that. The great thing about Joe is, neither is he. Joe is very comfortable with who he is and the type of player he is. That's a great trait for a leader to have, especially a quarterback in the NFL.''
He's got another great trait for a quarterback: The ability to throw the deep ball. Few have done it as well this season as Flacco, who has completed 46 passes of 25 yards or longer, including TD throws of 70, 59 and 32 yards last week in Denver.
Asked to describe Flacco's deep ball, Jones replied, ''It's like a Starburst. It's just juicy, man. It's good. It's like candy. Everybody likes candy.''
On the Ravens, it seems like everyone likes Joe.
''I've never played with a guy with that much talent; I'm talking about physically,'' Boldin said. ''I think Joe is able to make any throw on the field. Big-time throws, the deep ball, he does it all.''
Flacco is known among his teammates as Joe Cool because of his calm demeanor in the huddle and the pocket.
''He doesn't flinch in any situation,'' wide receiver Torrey Smith said. ''That's what we like about him. He's the same, whether we're doing well or bad, and you can trust a guy like that.''
When it's time for business, Flacco doesn't panic. Against Denver, he moved the Ravens 77 yards in 38 seconds with the game on the line.
''You all might think we're lying about it, but I'm being so serious when I say that when we went to the huddle, no one doubted for a second that we (were) going to score,'' Smith said. ''Did we think it was going to be a 70-yard bomb? No. But no one panicked. It was just so calm in the huddle. It was like, `All right. Let's go do it.' And we got it done.''
Recalling the drive, Flacco said, ''There's no need to get all worked up over stuff like that when you know you have put all of your time, all of your effort into going out there and having fun and winning the football game. There's no need to blow it out of proportion and get overwhelmed by that kind of thing. I think when you have that mindset, it is easy to go out there and stay calm and play in that moment.''
Flacco earned the Patriots' respect in last year's title game when he outplayed Brady and nearly pulled off an upset. Earlier this season, Flacco threw for 382 yards and three scores in Baltimore's 31-30 win over New England.
''He's tough to bring down, he stands in the pocket, he takes a hit, he gets up. That's a tough football player,'' Patriots tackle Vince Wilfork said. ''When you have a quarterback like that, that's special.''
Flacco's rookie contract expires after this season. Regardless of what happens Sunday - and whether he gets a long-term deal or receives Baltimore's franchise tag - he is due for a big payday in the months ahead. But Flacco has more pressing issues in mind this week.
''I'm sure it's back there somewhere, but it's not something I've really thought about or really considered,'' he said.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh has made his position clear: Pay the man.
''He is one of the toughest quarterbacks I have ever been around,'' Harbaugh said. ''He's the best quarterback I've ever been around.''
AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich contributed to this report.


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Dirk Bikkembergs showed its Fall/Winter 2017 collection during Milan Fashion Week.
Dirk Bikkembergs showed its Fall/Winter 2017 collection during Milan Fashion Week.
The collection is a vibrant journey into an era of revolutionary changes in fashion, drawing inspiration from the Japanese culture and the 70's London punk street fashion.
The project is titled "Journey Of Dreams" and describes the beautiful journey into the world of dreams, related to the power of designing a life that one loves, seen from a free and clear perspective.
The campaign showcases the brand's passion for craft and creativity, as well as its diverse and distinctive range of clothes.
The partnership reflects Victor's passion for excellence and his constant desire to improve his skills, as well as his affinity for the Maison's values and vision.
The Levi's Spring/Summer 2024 Made in Japan collection showcases the beauty and quality of Japanese denim, which has a long and rich history.
The term 'EUROTRASH' was often used as a derogatory label, but EYTYS reclaims it as a badge of honor and a symbol of chic confidence and flair.
Natasha Zinko presented her Fall/Winter 2024 collection during London Fashion Week.
Mr P. has unveiled its latest collection for Spring 2024, featuring a range of stylish and durable pieces made from more responsible materials and processes.
Burberry presented its Winter 2024 collection, designed by current creative director Daniel Lee, during London Fashion Week.
The festival will take place at Fira Montjuïc and Fira Gran Via, with more than 200 shows, DJ sets, projects and activities, featuring artists, technologists, scientists and specialists in multiple disciplines of the creative industries from more than 30 countries.
Theo photographed by Matthieu Delbreuve and styled by Guillem Chanzá with pieces from Louis Vuitton, for the "GAMES" issue of Fucking Young! magazine.
The Emberton II speaker, which features the Marshall signature sound, has been given a makeover by Patta, reflecting their distinctive vision and style.
The campaign highlights the cultural bridge between Japan and France that Nigo has established through this collection.
Priya Ahluwalia, founder and creative director of Ahluwalia, presented her Fall/Winter 2024 collection during London Fashion Week.
The collection invites us to reconnect with the natural world and discover its hidden treasures.
Oriol Clavell is a designer who is not afraid to challenge the norms and express his queer identity through his creations.
Finn-Kelcey was a pioneer of performance and feminist art in the 1970s, and her work explores themes such as identity, power and spirituality.
The designer experiments with different shapes, textures, and colors, challenging the conventional notions of beauty and ugliness.
Take a look at Pablo Erroz Fall/Winter 2024 backstage, captured by the lens of Julio Feroz during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid, in exclusive for Fucking Young!
Chet Lo has created a spiky utopia for his FW24 collection, where he reimagines the Terracotta Army as a futuristic force of fashion.
WHOLE Festival, the annual gathering of the international queer electronic music community, is back for its sixth edition this summer.
The exhibition, titled "We Are Made of Stardust", is the first solo show of Johnson in Spain and one of his largest in Europe.
AMIRI's Spring/Summer 2024 campaign is a celebration of the Californian spirit, the European lifestyle, and the joy of exploration.
"Arc Echo" is a collection that celebrates the beauty and diversity of one's identity, as well as the power and potential of one's dreams.
Find out which German designers have made their mark with their Fall/Winter 2024 collections at the latest edition of Berlin Fashion Week.
QASIMI has unveiled its Fall/Winter 2024 collection in collaboration with New York-based visual artist, Kambui Olujimi.
The FACETASM FW24 collection is a tribute to Spike Jonze's artistic legacy, and a celebration of doing what you love.
The collection draws inspiration from the hidden gems that can be found in the homes of strangers, and how they can be transformed into stylish and sophisticated pieces for the modern wearer.
If you are looking for a candle that is not too big or too small, but just right, you might want to check out LE LABO's medium concrete candles. These candles are the latest addition to the… »
Lisbon Fashion Week is back with its 62nd edition, titled MODALISBOA FOR GOOD, from March 8th to March 11th, 2024.
Life is a game and true love is a trophy.
Issue #23 Games will see designer discussions with Dsquared2' Dean and Dan Caten, Louis Gabriel Nouchi, Jordan Luca, and Romain Kremer create our game frame each with a different adventure.
A brief men's fashion and culture


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Wooly Oak Galls
Q: We just bought some great live oaks and have them planted, ragged hole, flare showing and mulched. But one problem I am noticing, the tree asps are quite plentiful. What's your recommendation the treat the asps and keep them at bay?
A: Sounds more like wooly oak galls than asps (puss caterpillars). A heavy population indicates some stress in the tree and the Sick Tree Treatment should be applied.
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Suppose I have a completely integrable system on a symplectic manifold $(M^{2n},\omega)$ with momentum map $H:M \rightarrow \mathbb{R}^n$ that has compact, connected fibers. Further, suppose I know the set of regular values is not simply connected.
Question Short of computing local action-angle coordinates or the period lattice, how can we compute the monodromy of this system? Or simply detect whether it is non-trivial?
The only way I know to do this is to compute the transition functions of the period lattice bundle explicitly (a la Cushman and Bates), which seems to be roughly equivalent to several other approaches (such as computing local action angle coordinates). Are there other known tricks for doing this, or famous examples I should be aware of? For example, if I can realize my system as a Lax pair, are there `algebraic' ways to detect monodromy?
Edit: cf. http://arxiv.org/pdf/1401.3630.pdf it appears that (at least in 2 degrees of freedom) if you have an isolated focus singular value in the base, then (in the Hamiltonian case) the monodromy around that point can be computed from the number of singular points in the fiber. So one strategy is to study the topology of the singular fibers. Apparently this approach breaks down if the system is non-Hamiltonian. Does this approach generalize to Hamiltonian systems with arbitrary degrees of freedom? For example, in degree 3 we would be looking at monodromy around a critical line, so we might need to study the topology of a bundle of singular tori over this line.


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Love at First Sight: Glimpse Inside Blossoming February Issues + Win Your Favorite
I am finding it very hard not to fall head first into the inspiring project ideas found inside each of the NEW February issues that wound up on my desk yesterday morning. As I'm happily taking a moment to flip through the pages of exciting new artwork (I really should get back to work!) and read the compelling stories that these fresh spring editions have to offer, I hope you too will click on each of the issues below and enjoy catching a glimpse at the creativity that's pouring from their pages. Warning: previewing the articles inside may be habit-forming.
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Be sure to take advantage of this exclusive discount for our blog readers (have you subscribed yet?). After browsing the following selection of titles, receive FREE SHIPPING on any of these fantastic February reads by entering the discount code below during checkout.
Use Promo Code: BLOG0213*
The spring issue of Artful Blogging is an inviting, must-have resource for new and experienced bloggers alike, a place where you can gather a little insight into the world's most dynamic online journals and virtual galleries. Get ready to drool over the inspiring pages and whimsical artwork by Jenni Horne, beautiful décor photography by Kate from Salvage Dior, and delicious food photography by Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny. We hope you'll enjoy peering into the world of Kate from Kate's Creative Space and the rest of this issue as much as we do.
GreenCraft Magazine is back for another installment, and it's got more sustainable projects than ever! From a journal made from retired vinyl records to a necklace fashioned from pistachio shells, this issue will open up your imagination to the endless materials that are available to you in your quest to create planet-friendly wares. You'll also find a GreenCraft Walking department showcasing several ways to create upcycled purses and a stunning new purpose for discarded CD cases. Turning trash into treasure never looked so good!
The 5th annual issue of Apronology is packed with some of our best aprons yet! Everyone is sure to find a design that inspires them in the pages of this latest issue, whether it's Alice and Wonderland-themed aprons or fabric patterns that are a throwback to the Wild, Wild, West. There will also be two gorgeous examples of reversible aprons, the perfect dress-up apron for anyone who fancies herself a princess, and charming shop aprons for those girls who feel more comfortable holding a hammer than a pot roast. You won't want to miss this issue, so be sure to pick one up as soon as you can!
Make yourself at home with this new issue of Where Women Create. The studio spaces of these extraordinary and talented women will make you feel like you have stepped into an art retreat. Look forward to stepping into the inspiring studios of Annie Fischer, Jenni Bowlin, Dee Harvey, and Dinara Mirtalipova. Ever wonder where the top dogs in the art world create? Join Michaels creative expert Joann Pearson and Stacy Caron, owner of Spellbinders Paper Arts, as they walk you through the places they call home. Filled with organizational tips and beautiful photographs that showcase every painted wall and unique accent, this issue will satisfy every creative craving.
Gear up for a fresh start this year with wearable do-it-yourself art! This new issue of Altered Couture showcases the innovative results of the Clothes with Character challenge and features Mary Colmar's stylish jean vests. Sweetheart dresses are gorgeous to behold, and Kelly Clemens Billadeux shares her unique take on the style. Another spotlight-stealer comes in the form of Wendy Firmin's babydoll outfits that will impress even the best dressed fashionistas. You'll be whisked away to a wardrobe filled with creative possibility and designs from Cynthia Anderson, Sue Crager, Bonnie Kohane, and more.
The spring issue of Art Doll Quarterly is sure to help your creativity blossom. Master Doll Artist Jack Johnston concludes his series of tutorials by showing you step-by-step how to put your doll together. We present the results of our Topsy-Turvy Doll Challenge, and you'll be amazed with all the fun and creative dolls that our readers came up with. Our Doll Artist Profile features the talented Karin Otto-Burfict who says that transforming clay into lifelike figures has been magical for her. This issue is guaranteed to get you out of the winter doldrums!
This issue of Stuffed is bursting with softies and their stories! The Artist Portfolio of Sabina Gibson will prove to you that even the smallest softies can be filled with personality and whimsy. Artist Anne-Claire Regan is back with one of her extraordinary owls, and this time he's brought along a parrot and an octopus for an oceanic adventure you'll have to see to believe. This issue also features some of our best crocheted softies yet, and they couldn't be more different from each other — cute, loveable party animals, and the eerie inhabitants of an otherworldly orphanage.
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Want to win one of these issues? Pick your favorite spread, and let us know why you like it best in the blog comments below! One lucky person will be selected at random to receive their choice of one of these brand-new February issues.
*Free shipping offer applies to U.S. purchases of the following February (Spring '13) issues only: Altered Couture, Apronology, Art Doll Quarterly, Artful Blogging, GreenCraft, Stuffed, and Where Women Create. Discount code cannot be combined with any other offer and expires 2/28/13.
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Tiger Woods' return ultimately measured by performance
Tiger Woods still has more majors than comebacks.
But the gap is narrowing.
Woods said he will return to competition at the Hero World Challenge the week after Thanksgiving — an 18-man field in the Bahamas with no cut — just over seven months after fusion surgery. That was his fourth back surgery in a little more than two years, and that alone should be enough to temper expectations.
This will be the 10th time that Woods has returned from an unscheduled break of two months or more, eight of them since winning his 14th major at Torrey Pines in the 2008 U.S. Open. And it will be the fifth time he returns since his last victory in August 2013 at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Should it be cause for celebration?
Of course.
MORE: 17 of Tiger Woods' most eye-popping records | A history of Tiger's injuries
A popular phrase in recent years is that golf needs Woods, but this is only true as it relates to his performance. Otherwise, it becomes a nostalgia tour, and the question facing Woods is whether he can handle being a ceremonial golfer. If that's what this is about, there would be no need for him to play.
This will be the second straight year that Woods makes a celebrated comeback from back surgery in the Bahamas.
He had gone 15 months and two microdiscectomy surgeries when he played the Hero World Challenge last year and finished 15th against a field of 18 (Justin Rose withdrew after the opening round with back pain). Woods made 24 birdies that week but finished at 4-under par and was 14 shots behind the winner, Hideki Matsuyama.
He was held to a different standard. He was measured by the freedom of his swing more than his score in relation to the field. That began to change when he missed the cut at Torrey Pines in his first start against a full field, and then flew across eight time zones to Dubai and lasted one round — a 77 — before withdrawing the next day because of back spasms.
Different about this return is the nature of the surgery, which carried a higher risk and was geared more toward his quality of life.
Golf is a bonus.
Woods made headlines at the Presidents Cup during a news conference for assistant captains when he was asked if he could see a scenario where he would not return to competition. "Yeah, definitely," he responded. "I don't know what my future holds for me. As I've told you guys, I'm hitting 60-yard shots."
It was a leading question that was more about the uncertainty of his health than his desire to play, and the outlook changed quickly.
Within a week, he posted a slow-motion video of a full swing. Then another one of Woods hitting driver, a third video hitting a stinger with a long iron, and news amid this tease that doctors had cleared him to play and practice without restrictions.
So what next?
For one holiday tournament, at least, Woods will be taking on a short field that is long on power and talent.
Does anyone really think he can dominate the likes of Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka the way he once ruled his sport? The numbers suggest otherwise. Woods turns 42 at the end of the year and he has gone through eight surgeries — four on his left knee, four on his back.
Can he win again?
It would be foolish to declare that he can't by measuring Woods against the entirety of the PGA Tour.
Woods announced he will play the Hero World Challenge on the week that Rod Pampling defends his title in Las Vegas. Pampling, once a frequent practice round partner of Woods at the majors, is one of the shorter hitters and won last year at age 47. Koepka was the runner-up.
MORE: Tiger Woods' comebacks: A history of fighting his way back to the top
Pat Perez is 41 and doesn't overpower courses. He has won twice in the last two years and now is No. 18 in the world.
Even without winning over the last four years while suffering from back problems, Woods has built up an enormous mystique from the previous 18 years that produced 79 victories on the PGA Tour.
Thomas won five times last season. Spieth and Jason Day each won five times in 2015. Woods had 11 seasons with at least that many victories, and he had six years when he won seven times or more.
"Imagine combining the year Jordan had, the year Jason had, the year Justin had. That was Tiger Woods for my whole junior career," Koepka said.
That's what people remember.
That's why his fifth comeback since 2014 still resonates with hope.
The PGA Tour celebrated the announcement of Woods' return on Tuesday with a tweet that said, "The fist pump is back." For now, the only fist pump belongs to those who are eager to see him play because they were not sure they would get that chance again.
How long that lasts depends on Woods.
This article was written by Doug Ferguson from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to email@example.com.


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Kanye West & Kim Kardashian -- The Couple that Lasers Together, Stays Together
Kanye & Kim Kardashian The Couple that Lasers Together, Stays Together!
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are one smooth couple ... so smooth that they even went to a laser hair removal clinic together.
With Kim in the drivers seat of a Rolls, the slick power couple showed up to zap some pesky hairs away at a L.A. area clinic on Thursday.
Their love goes from Nair to eternity.


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Wed 03 Apr 2019
Sat 07 Mar 2020
Celebrate the songs of ABBA with the smash-hit musical MAMMA MIA! in London at the Novello Theatre. Find out more about the musical, and how to book your MAMMA MIA! tickets with Group Line.
Join the fun at MAMMA MIA!, the world's sunniest, most exhilarating smash-hit musical! Since premiering in London's West End over 23 years ago, 'the ultimate feel-good show' (Classic FM) has thrilled over 65 million people around the world.
Seen by over 8 million people in the West End alone, MAMMA MIA! continues to break box office records at the Novello Theatre, its third London home. Set on a Greek island paradise, a story of love, friendship and identity is cleverly told through the timeless songs of Abba, including Dancing Queen, Take A Chance On Me and Super Trouper. Sophie's quest to discover the father she's never known brings her mother face to face with three men from her distant romantic past on the eve of a wedding they'll never forget!
There's never been a better time to see this unforgettable musical in the West End, where it all began. Whatever age you are, you can't help but have the time of your life at MAMMA MIA!
At London's Novello Theatre, book your MAMMA MIA! tickets today!
Package includes a great seat for Mamma Mia!, and a 2-course pre-theatre meal from 5pm at Balthazar. Additional drinks and service are not included. Menu subject to change.
The original Balthazar opened in downtown New York's Spring Street in 1997. Balthazar London is situated on the corner of Russell and Wellington Streets in the heart of Covent Garden, just across from The Royal Opera House. Housed in the old Theatre Museum, Balthazar shares "The Flower Cellars" building with The London Film Museum (the permanent flower market was originally built for the Covent Garden flower sellers in 1870 and this space was used for storage). Founder, Keith McNally has endeavoured to remain as true to the New York original as possible, where bistro food, good wine and friendly service are the order of the day. Balthazar London has the egalitarian appeal of the brasserie – something for everyone all day long.Enjoy a two-course pre theatre dinner from 5.00pm. Customers must arrive for the pre theatre dinner by 6.30pm prior to their evening show. View Sample Menu (subject to seasonal change)Address:Balthazar, 4-6 Russell Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2B 5HZ. Opening Hours:Pre-show dinner from 5.00 pm. Customers must arrive by 6.30pm. *Please note: Additional drinks and Service Charge are not included. Service Charge is not included in the voucher price but will be applied to the bill on the evening itself.
Tickets and bookings subject to availability at Balthazar Restaurant. Please note that bookings are for evening PRE theatre, arriving from 5pm prior to your evening performance.
The two course pre theatre menu is taken from the seasonally changing theatre menu at Balthazar Restaurant, and is subject to change. Please ensure that you present your meal voucher to the Maitre d' upon arrival at Balthazar. Failure to do so could result in you paying again. Service Charge is not included in the voucher price but will be applied to the bill on the evening itself. Our complimentary postal delivery option is available, however if you choose to pick up your theatre and meal vouchers from the theatre box office, then you may do so any time after 4pm for an evening performance and after 1pm for a matinee (afternoon) performance on the day of the show. You will be responsible for any additional charges for food or beverages purchased. Please note that Service Charge is not included. Service Charge is not included in the voucher price but will be applied to the bill on the evening itself.Package does not apply to tickets already purchased. You will receive one meal voucher with every ticket purchased. Alcohol cannot be served to or consumed by people under 18 years old. Terms and conditions on how to redeem your meal voucher will accompany your ticket.
Aldwych, London, WC2B 4LD


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About me
I am a Technical Manager at 3M M*Modal in Pittsburgh, PA where I lead a team working on intelligent conversational agents to support clinical documentation. I have an interdisciplinary background that covers computer science, traditional and computational linguistics, human computer interaction, digital humanities and the learning sciences.
Until August 2016, I was a postdoctoral researcher at the Language Technologies Institute <School of Computer Science < Carnegie Mellon University, where I co-directed a working group to improve social learning in MOOCs with NLP-based interventions and furthermore spearheaded the development of DiscourseDB, a universal and comprehensive discourse representation for discourse analyses in the learning sciences, social sciences and beyond.
In July 2014, I graduated from the Ubiquitous Knowledge Processing Lab < Department of Computer Science < Technische Universität Darmstadt with a PhD (Dr.-Ing.) in computer science. My PhD thesis focused on NLP-supported approaches to information quality management in open online collaboration platforms such as Wikipedia. Before that, I received a Master's degree in English linguistics (Magister Artium) and a teaching degree in computer science and English (Staatsexamen für das Lehramt an Gymnasien) from the University of Würzburg.


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Sorry, this product is currently out of stock.
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A whole new feel for easy-going runs.
For those looking to give their body a break, the ENDORPHIN SHIFT takes a new approach to make any run feel easier by taking the stress off feet and treating them to lots of feel-good cushioning.


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President Obama devoted a portion of his January State of the Union address to the subject of high-speed rail transport, and the following month Vice President Biden announced a 6-year, $53 billion plan to invest in it. The Administration's long-term goal is to make high-speed rail service available to 80% of the nation's population within 25 years.
While cheered by rail enthusiasts and mass-transit advocates, this vision faces a funding battle in a Congress desperate to show voters that it can rein in government spending. Some states are rebelling, too; governors in Florida, Wisconsin, and Ohio have rejected $3.6 billion in federal funding for new passenger-rail lines, precipitating a scramble among other state governors eager to take their share.
Amtrak, the $2.5 billion government-owned railroad that carries the bulk of the nation's rail passengers, faces multiple battles of its own, including aging cars and infrastructure, and a continuing reliance on government subsidies. Despite these challenges, Amtrak finance chief D.J. Stadtler, who assumed the post in February 2009 after a career divided between government service and his family's central Virginia engineering firm, says good things are happening at the nation's passenger-rail company.
Amtrak is used to being in the spotlight, but not always in a good way. Do you think things will get better?
We are really excited about the [renewed] focus on rail. We have always felt that rail is the most efficient way to travel. In 2008, when gas prices skyrocketed, people flocked to the trains and we had what at that time was record ridership. Through the downturn in the economy we were able to hold on to that ridership, and in 2010 we had our biggest year ever. So we feel very good about the renaissance of rail.
Also in 2010, because our revenue was higher than expected and we were able to keep our operating costs down, we made the first payment on 130 long-distance, single-level cars that will replace heritage cars that are over 60 years old. This will allow us to add more revenue by carrying more passengers.
From a financial point of view, we've done a good job of becoming more transparent. We're much more open with Congress and the public in terms of how we've performed and what our needs are. For the past two years we've had clean audits — no material weaknesses — an achievement that Amtrak has not been especially known for. So we're proud of that. We think we're moving in the right direction.
What is Amtrak's biggest financial challenge?
Our biggest financial challenge is the deferred maintenance we have in the Northeast Corridor. We run trains every day with equipment that in many cases is older and run harder than any other similar equipment in the country. The older the cars get and the more we run them, the more expensive they are to keep up and maintain. We've got to start replacing that equipment and addressing some of the maintenance we've ignored for years because funding was such a challenge.
So Amtrak's biggest financial challenge is also its biggest operational challenge?
Yes. If we are able to reduce our deferred maintenance, our railroad will have a higher performance level. Our on-time performance will be higher, our reliability will be better, and customers will be happier with their ride.
What are the prospects for making these repairs? In 2009 you reported a $5 billion backlog of capital projects for the Northeast Corridor alone.
It is still right around $5 billion, but we are making progress. We had $1.3 billion granted to us under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and have been very responsible in putting that money to work. We have 100-year-old bridges that we're replacing, such as the Niantic Bridge in Connecticut, which will make them safer and will mean that we won't have to slow down every time we go over them. But we still have hundreds of other bridges we need to address.
What else are you doing to improve the rider experience?
We have lots of initiatives that are not part of deferred maintenance, like e-ticketing, which we are very close to introducing, and free Wi-Fi Internet service, which is already available on our Acela Express trains in the Northeast Corridor and a few other places. I think we're more focused on the customer than we've ever been.
Is Amtrak's finance organization where you want it to be?
There's always room for improvement. However, I think we have a good mix of folks who have been here a long time and folks who are new and excited to come in and change the culture. We are a company that for years, in the 2000s, struggled year-to-year to know if we were going to stay afloat. We had Administrations that came in and said, "Let's eliminate Amtrak." It was very hard to have a staff that focused on the future when you didn't know how long your future was going to be. Now I think we are more focused on becoming competitive, on cutting costs, on using technology to make our processes better. And again, for the past two years we've had clean audits. The auditors come in and we work with them; it's no longer a combative atmosphere.
Are your internal systems up to the job?
We're in the process of transitioning to a brand new ERP system. We've been hindered by the fact that every time we needed a new system we developed it individually, and we ended up with 200 different systems that didn't talk to one another. Our ERP system is going to change that.
What role would Amtrak play in the Obama Administration's $53 billion plan for upgrading rail service across the country?
The plan is envisioned to be a competition, as I understand it, for high-speed rail service, and Amtrak would surely want to be part of that. We'd be competing against foreign railroads and other domestic railroads.
Suppose this six-year plan actually got approved. Would Amtrak simply drain more from the federal budget by becoming a bigger operation, or would it become self-sustaining?
I would be hesitant to say self-sustaining. We currently recover 76% of our operating costs through ticket revenue, and that's the highest level of any railroad in the country. We want to get that number as high as possible, of course, and there are places in the system where we have done that. In the Northeast Corridor, for example, our Acela service recovers 121% from an operating point of view. But there are other places where it would be very difficult to achieve that. Our goal is to continue to be as efficient as possible, and to keep our costs down while keeping our customer service up so that we can attract more riders and give them the transportation option they want and need. Then I think the finances work themselves out.
How would you assess the odds of this plan getting off the ground, given the political and budgetary environment?
It's going to be a challenge. We're in a situation where any new spending is scrutinized very closely. But we have to do something. The population is growing such that people need to be moved. We're focused on green, and we're focused on efficiency. Rail is a fantastic option.


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Once upon a time, there was a Caliphate, and the Caliphate was hereditary. The Caliph had a thousand sons. When his grip weakened, the sons would kill or imprison each other till only one remained, who became the new Caliph. The Caliph was the supreme leader of both Church and State, and any preacher boy who claimed to be substantially holier than the Caliph was apt to wind up a head shorter. This prevented spirals of holiness competition.
The Caliphate was overthrown, because the Turks became sick of the burdens of empire, an empire in which outsiders were continually favored over Turks, not to mention that the Caliph tended to be noticeably whiter than the Turks.
In the ensuing chaos, the House of Saud grabbed quite a lot of land, on the basis that they were holier than anyone else. Since then, we have seen one movement after another claiming to be holier than the house of Saud. A day or so ago, US troops fled Yemen, abandoning their heavy weapons to the extremely holy Islamic State or the extremely holy Al Qaeda, or, very likely, both. Yemen has not fallen yet, probably will not fall for a quite a while, but the writing is on the wall.
To the extent that these movements adhere to the plain wording of the Koran and the Hadiths, they are delightfully reactionary. I particularly like Boko Haram's position on marriage and western education. But, if you simply stick to the plain wording, that kind of limits how holy you can be. So, as each strives to be holier than the other, we are seeing increasing egalitarianism and socialism. All holiness spirals tend to wind up in much the same place regardless of religion of origin, just as all aneuploid malignant metastatic cancers look very much alike, regardless of tissue of origin. Pretty soon they will be holier than Mohammed, as Christians have long been holier than Jesus. If it were not for that, I would convert to Boko Haram's brand of Islam right away.


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Size Chart
How to measure
Measure a shirt with a collar that fits you well. Lay the collar flat, and measure from the center of the collar button to the far end of the button hole. The measurement in inches is your collar size. (Alternatively, measure around the base of your neck.)
With arms relaxed at your sides, measure around your chest at the armpits, over the highest part of your chest and shoulder blades, keeping the tape parallel to the floor.
Measure around your waist, in your underwear, at the point where your trousers would normally ride. Keep one finger between the tape and your body.
Stand with your heels together, and measure around the fullest part of your hips, keeping the tape parallel to the floor.
Bend your elbow 90 degrees and place your hand on your hip. Hold the tape at the center back of your neck. Measure across your shoulder to your elbow, and down to your wrist. The total length in inches is your sleeve length.


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WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 02, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Inspectional Services Department today issued a reminder to Boston residents to prepare for frigid temperatures by making homes weather tight, and ensuring heating systems are running properly and adequately fueled. In the month of December, Inspectional Services received 129 "no heat" calls.
"As temperatures drop in Boston, we're encouraging residents, landlords and property managers to be proactive in servicing their home plumbing and heating systems," Mayor Menino said. "We're also asking neighbors to look out for one another, and to take appropriate safety measures to prepare for the cold. Our 24-hour hotline is always on hand to help with any concerns residents may have."
As residents brace for winter weather, Inspectional Services encourages both property owners and tenants to prepare by doing the following:
Service Your Plumbing and Heating Systems:
Planned Repairs Are Cheaper Than Emergency Repairs
- Make sure your heating systems are up to code and working properly – minimize the chances of them breaking down
- Do not run out of fuel, try to keep no less than a quarter tank of oil
- Keep service plan handy in case of emergency
- Property owners should have an emergency list of contractors(electrician, plumber and general contractor)
Heat Your Home, Not Outdoors:
Keep the Cold Out
- Close and secure all storm windows and doors
- Install door guards on all exterior doorways
- Apply weather stripping to windows and doors
- Properly insulate all pipes exposed to cold temperatures
- Cover vents
- Disconnect water hose and wrap or cover exposed spigot
- Caulk or putty windows
- Ensure kitchen and bathroom dampers close properly
According to the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code, landlords and property managers must supply functioning heating systems from September 15 through June 15. During this time the temperature of units must be maintained at 68 degrees during the day (7 a.m.to 11 p.m.) and 64 degrees in the evening (11:01 p.m. to 6:59 a.m.). Tenants experiencing problems with heating systems should contact a landlord or property manager immediately. If they are unresponsive, tenants should contact the Inspectional Services Department (ISD) at 617-635-5300 to file a complaint. Complaints made outside normal business hours should be called into the Mayor's 24-Hour Hotline at 617-635-4500.
In partnership with MassSave, NSTAR and National Grid, Renew Boston provides no-cost energy assessments and 75% off – up to $2,000 – on qualified insulation improvements for households in 1-4 unit buildings. There are no income qualifications and renters and landlords are encouraged to participate. Those interested in learning more about the program should call 617-635-SAVE. For more information regarding home heating regulations log onto: http://www.cityofboston.gov/isd/housing/pdfs/winter.pdf.
City emergency management organizations have compiled a list of personal and home safety tips for cold weather preparation, available at www.cityofboston.gov/cold. The site also acts as a central location for residents filing service requests for cold-weather related issues, including insufficient heat, gas or electric problems, smoke and carbon monoxide detector inspections, and reporting oil truck issues.
The Elderly Commission reminds residents to check on their elderly neighbors. Boston seniors can also take advantage of Senior Shuttle service for any transportation needs. Additional information is available by calling the Elderly Commission at 617-635-4366. The City's Shelter Commission asks that any resident who sees a potential medical emergency involving a homeless person dial 9-1-1.
Mayor's Press Office
Press.Office (at) cityofboston (dot) gov


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Madonna Booed at Philly Gig, Later Apologizes to Audience
This is not how Madonna wanted to kick off the U.S. leg of her MDNA World Tour. The Material Girl was on the receiving end of boos and expletive-laden chants for showing up fashionably late last night in Philadelphia, but she later won back the crowd and apologized for her tardiness.
Madonna was supposed to take the stage at 8PM for her concert at the Wells Fargo Center, according to the Philly Post. Now, a diva like Madonna has earned the right to operate on whatever time schedule she wants. But when it reached 10PM, after endless microphone checks and with still no sign of the 'Girl Gone Wild,' restless fans began showing their frustration by chanting "B.S." and booing.
Madge finally arrived at 10:24, turning the jeers into cheers with her high-energy stage show featuring machine guns, marching bands, helicopters and videotaped Nicki Minaj cameos.
She blamed her late arrival on being too much of a perfectionist and told fans to appreciate their freedom given all the human rights abuses around the world:
It's so good to be back home, and I want to apologize for being late. We had many changes to make from Europe to America, and I wanted the show to be perfect for you because my fans deserve it and quite frankly I deserve it. This is the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed. We are in the land of democracy. We started the word, motherf—ers. Well, actually, some Greeks did, but … In my country, we have freedom of speech, freedom of expression, even though it's far from perfect. But in Moscow, there are three girls in jail. Yes, free Pussy Riot. In St. Petersburg, there are gay men in jail for exhibiting that they are gay. How f—ed up is that? Never forget how lucky you are to live where you live. Don't get fat and lazy and take that freedom for granted, or your fat, lazy gay a– will land in jail.
The MDNA Tour heads to Canada this weekend before returning to the U.S. next week with shows in Boston and New York City. Madonna will be performing in NYC the same night as the MTV Video Music Awards.


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HAVANA — Dr. Luis Sauchay is the kind of hands-on physician you want in an emergency.
Though relatively young at 34, Sauchay has chalked up more than a decade of practicing hardship medicine.
Right out of medical school, he spent two years on the high seas, the only doctor for hundreds of fishermen aboard an industrial vessel.
During two other years, he cared for the sick and forgotten in an understaffed African clinic, treating countless cases of tuberculosis and cholera.
For the last five years, he has been the local family doctor for 200 working-class families in Havana's Párraga neighborhood.
And after last December's tsunami, Sauchay joined a Cuban medical brigade to comfort the shell-shocked in Sri Lanka.
So it was no surprise when just a day after Katrina decimated the Gulf Goast that Sauchay volunteered to help victims even though it means leaving his wife alone with their 2-month-old son.
"I can do a lot of good there," he stressed, "because I have years of experience dealing with this type of catastrophe."
Sauchay, though, may never get the chance to prove his worth. Despite Bush administration assurances that international aid offers will be kept free of politics, Cold War tensions seem to be freezing out help from Cuba.
Thanks, but no thanks
In separate Washington press briefings, both the White House and State Department spokesmen this week downplayed the Cuban government's offer to send some 1,600 medics, field hospitals and 83 tons of medical supplies to ease the humanitarian disaster.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack asserted last week that the Cuban medical brigade would probably not be needed since there has been a "robust response from the American medical community."
White House spokesman Scott McClellan scorned the Cuban proposal last Thursday when asked if the president would consider accepting the Cuban help.
"When it comes to Cuba," said McClellan, "we have one message for Fidel Castro: He needs to offer the people of Cuba their freedom."
Sauchay and the other Cuban physicians don't seem to be taking the hint their services may not be wanted.
Still ready if needed
They remain on stand-by, their bags packed. And while they wait at a Havana medical school that normally houses international scholarship students, the brigade has been brushing up on English skills, the epidemiology common to natural disasters, and the local history of Louisiana and Mississippi.
A colleague of Dr. Suchay, Dr. Delvis Marta Fernandez, 32, is frustrated that she and the other doctors find themselves lingering in Havana.
"Let's get going," she said. "This is not political. This is a humanitarian emergency. People are dying and they need our help."
That's something she knows about, despite her young age.
After graduating medical school shortly after her 22nd birthday, Fernandez spent two years in an isolated mountain community. "I once had to walk some 10 miles for an ambulance," she said.
From there, she volunteered to work in Haiti where she "practiced medicine by candlelight" for two more years.
And when Hurricane Jeanne killed 600 people in Haiti last September, Fernandez sacrificed her vacation at the beach to return to the flooded island.
"I do this for the children," she said, expecting that she would be in the U.S. for about three months.
Disaster zone experience
Young, smart, committed and impatient to "get going" are ways to describe this Cuban medical brigade; they also know how to tackle disaster zones — since 1995, more than a dozen hurricanes have hit Cuba.
Still, the Administration has yet to give the Cuban government a flat yes or no. In fact, Havana never may get an answer.
For more than four decades, the two governments have barely communicated. Current relations, say observers, are at a low point.
This irritates Representative José Serrano (D-NY).
"If you have a flood in your home and a neighbor that you don't like offers you a pump, you don't turn them down and let your house continue being flooded," said Serrano.
Last Tuesday, Serrano and a colleague from Arizona, Raúl Grijalva, sent a letter to the Secretary of State urging the Administration to accept the Cuban assistance.
"These doctors could help people. That's the bottom line," argued Serrano. "The decision to help people should not have any political calculations attached… The tragedy is that people's lives are at stake and they cannot seem to just accept the help."